Author:

Last month we asked our network to share the places in their state that they thought were the toughest to visit. Nearly 500 stadiums, gyms, pools, and courses were nominated, and now it’s time to crown a winner.

Where’s Utah’s Toughest Place to Play?

Voters are eligible to vote once per day.

Where’s Utah’s Toughest Place to Play?

Judge Memorial HS Gym – Home of the Judge Memorial Bulldogs

Skyridge HS Field – Home of the Skyridge Falcons

Mountain View HS Field – Home of the Mountain View Bruins

Maple Mountain Stadium – Home of the Maple Mountain Golden Eagles

Springville HS Soccer Field – Home of the Springville Red Devils

Alta HS Soccer Field – Home of the Alta Hawks

Weber HS Soccer Field – Home of the Weber Warriors

Ron Thorne Stadium – Home of the Bingham Miners

Kearns HS Stadium – Home of the Kearns Cougars

Olympus HS Gym – Home of the Olympus Titans

Copper Hills HS Gym – Home of the Copper Hills Grizzlies

Herriman HS Field – Home of the Herriman Mustangs

Lehi HS Stadium – Home of the Lehi Pioneers

Fremont HS Field – Home of the Fremont Silverwolves

Box Elder HS Gym – Home of the Box Elder Bees

Dozier Field – Home of the Park City Miners

Ridgeline Stadium – Home of the Ridgeline Riverhawks

Soldier Hallow Olympic Park Cross Country Course – Home of the Wasatch High Wasps

Falcons News·
Sep 25
Where Are the Toughest Places to Play? Nominate Now:

We here at VNN are doing a feature for our national media site highlighting the toughest places to play in all of high school sports and we want to hear from YOU what Stadium/Field/Gym/Course/Venue is the toughest to play and why?
Loading…

today Upcoming Events

No Events This Week

New jerseys, gear, entry fees, retreats – the wish list of opportunities to improve your teams is long, and often, the ways to finance them are short. While there’s no perfect one-size-fits-all fundraiser for every community, good inspiration is the first step.

Whether its your booster club, team, or program looking to raise funds and increase school spirit, here’s a few of our favorite ideas that we’ve seen across the network:

$10 files a warrant to arrest members of the community with phony allegations like “impersonating a golfer,” “failure to yield at the end of a sentence,” and “wearing pants way too high.” Once served with the warrant for their ‘arrest,’ the jailbirds are placed in a jail cell, a mug shot is taken, and they must call family/friends to raise bail.

Blue Flame cheerleaders dedicated their time to teach younger members of the community motion drills, jump technique, stunting fundamentals and sideline spirit in a day camp for a donation to the program. The campers, led by the PHS cheerleaders, performed a showcase at the conclusion of camp.

Anyone who has ever ran distance before knows that the hardest part isn’t necessarily the physical aspect, but the mental component of the sport, and in true Cross Country fashion, the Bobcats’ ‘hardest fundraiser,’ forces participants to run for an hour and a half around the track without stopping, with the main goal of seeing who can run the most laps consecutively in that time. Each lap ran accumulates money from sponsors, and all proceeds go towards funding the team.

Earlier this Summer, the Shoremen football team held their 26th annual lift-a-thon, where players perform their max in 4 lifts, including the squat, hang clean, bench press, and deadlift in front of a crowd. Donations could be made in a player’s name, or to the team generally. Whittier Christian (CA) has a similar event coming up, the Push-Up-a-Thon, and Gilmer.

In the warm up to the Utah Spring Season, the Roy Royals Boys Soccer team held a 3v3 soccer tournament. At $20 per player, it was billed as a tune up for the year’s games across all levels, with teams starting at age 6 through adult.

To help assist a teammate with unforeseen medical costs, the Jaguars held a home run derby. Split into two age groups, “19 and over” and “18 and under,” participants paid $20 to hit baseballs out of the park. The total raised, including raffles, auctions, and concessions, was $2,671!

Instead of practicing their own sport, the Firebirds of Lakota West held a fundraiser at the local West Chester Top Golf branch. At $100 per golfer, the cost included heavy appetizers, soft drinks, and visits from Lakota West NFL alumns Jordan Hicks (Philadelphia Eagles) and Ryan Kelly (Indianapolis Colts).

If there’s one thing everyone loves, it’s food. Several schools connected with local restaurants and held fundraisers there. Whether the deal was for a portion of the day’s earnings donated back to the school (Chipotle and Buffalo Wild Wings are good national candidates for this), an ‘all-you-can-eat’ Belgian Waffles special, or selling coupons, this idea is a simple turn-key way to start earning.

today Upcoming Events

No Events This Week

Falcons News·
Jul 24
How much do you know about staying hydrated? Presented by VNN

Staying hydrated is important to your health, and is one of the best ways to ensure that you are playing your best. Unfortunately, many athletes overlook just how important water is in maintaining top-level performance.

today Upcoming Events

No Events This Week

Falcons News·
Jun 9
Should High School Basketball Players Be Able to Declare for the NBA Draft? – Presented by VNN

As Americans, we tend to fall in love with our rising stars who are breaking out on the national stage at a young age. At 18, all eyes were on Patrick Kane as he started his professional hockey career with the Chicago Blackhawks. Nobody blinked twice when MLB’s Bryce Harper was selected to the National League All-Star team at 19. Likewise, there were no calls for the U.S. Men’s National Team to pump the brakes on budding soccer star Christian Pulisic when he scored his first goal for the Stars & Stripes at the young age of 17.

Yet, in basketball, most of the top high school talent is required to follow the controversial “one & done” trend. As the rule goes, an athlete needs to be at least 19 years old to be eligible for the NBA Draft, forcing all hopeful pros into at least one year in college or a European League. The policy, instituted in the NBA CBA in 2005, was aimed at yielding more developed and matured players as draft options, instead of seeing teams draft solely on raw talent and potential, and stashing those prospects away on their bench.

Over the last decade, this rule has been a nonstop point of discussion and debate. Many appreciate the importance this rule places on attending higher education, and further developing professional skills. In addition, many college programs can benefit from knowing that the prospects they are recruiting will indeed commit to a school, rather than decide to forgo college altogether. Conversely, however, many have questioned whether forcing the likes of Andrew Wiggins, Ben Simmons and Anthony Davis to go to college for a year is really the right path for top-level talent. The careers of Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James might say no. In addition, the one-and-done phenomenon sees many top players in and out of a college faster than you can say “Karl-Anthony Towns,” rendering a college game that is often focused more on individual showcases and annual ‘big names,’ rather than cheering for programs that see players develop over 3 or 4 years. This controversy is especially relevant, as current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently stated at the beginning of this year’s NBA Finals that “We all agreed we need to make a change . . . It’s one of those issues we need to come together and study. … My sense is, It’s not working for anyone.”(read more on Silver’s statement) Such a change could be to do away with the rule altogether, or amend it to have caveats, such as requiring those who choose to go to college to stay at least 2 years or those who choose to turn professional out of high school to spend a year in the G-League.

So, what do you think? Should the NBA change their age requirement and allow basketball players to turn professional fresh out of high school?

Should the NBA Allow High School Athletes to Declare for the Draft?

Yes! High Schoolers should be able to be drafted.

No. High Schoolers should be required to go to college first before playing in the NBA

It might feel like the round of a lifetime, but if her family is any indication, there could very well be more to come from Davis High ‘s Caylyn Ponich. The freshman golfer, 15, set a women’s course record by firing an 8-under 64 at Glen Eagle Golf Club in Syracuse during a Region 2 match Wednesday.

Heston Andersen – Spanish Fork High School:Heston Andersen set a new 4A state record at the UVU Invite. He ran 1:50.26 in the 800 meters to beat the previous record set in 1982 of 1:52.55. He crushed the 35-year-old record by 2 seconds!

Naya Tillitt – Ridgeline High School:Naya is the first boys or girls single’s tennis player from Cache Valley to capture the 3A state title. After dropping the first set 4-6, she rallied to win the next 12 games 6-0, 6-0. Read full story below:

It had been nearly 23 years since a high school tennis player from Cache Valley – girl or boy – had captured a state title in No. 1 singles. That streak came to an end Friday afternoon at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, and it was a freshman who earned a victory for the ages.

Hunter Woodhall – Syracuse High School:Hunter is a double amputee who broke 3 records in the 200, 400, and 4×400 who nearly came from last place to win 5A boys 4×400 even though the baton had been dropped on 2nd leg and would be “DQ”ed. He’s the first double amputee to sign a D1 track scholarship.

today Upcoming Events

No Events This Week

Falcons News·
May 30
From the Gym to the Street: Conor McGregor – Presented by Finish Line

Beyond being members of a team as athletes, we’re all individuals. And with that in mind, we’ve partnered with our friends at Finish Line to present a series of videos that show how decorated athletes in sports express their individuality through the clothes they wear.

today Upcoming Events

No Events This Week

Falcons News·
May 23
From the Gym to the Street: Aly Raisman – Presented by Finish Line

Beyond being members of a team as athletes, we’re all individuals. And with that in mind, we’ve partnered with our friends at Finish Line to present a series of videos that show how decorated athletes in sports express their individuality through the clothes they wear.